(Not) Talking about Trauma
Toward the end of Moby-Dick's Ch. 42, "The Whiteness of the Whale," the narrator, Ishmael, interrupts himself to address the reader: "But thou sayest, methinks this white-lead chapter about whiteness is but a white flag hung out from a craven soul; thou surrenderest to a hypo, Ishmael." In invoking his own name, and in the mention of the dreaded hypo, or bout of depression, this passages brings us back to the first paragraph of Chapter 1, Loomings, where we learned that the story was all a recounting of a voyage Ishmael years back.
Toward the end of Moby-Dick's Ch. 42, "The Whiteness of the Whale," the narrator, Ishmael, interrupts himself to address the reader: "But thou sayest, methinks this white-lead chapter about whiteness is but a white flag hung out from a craven soul; thou surrenderest to a hypo, Ishmael." In invoking his own name, and in the mention of the dreaded hypo, or bout of depression, this passages brings us back to the first paragraph of Chapter 1, Loomings, where we learned that the story was all a recounting of a voyage Ishmael years back.
There's precious little backstory on Ishmael in Moby-Dick, but we do learn in Chapter 1 that he set out to go whaling because he was depressed and trying not to let his "hypos get such an upper hand" of him. We don't know why he was depressed. We also know he will survive the staving in and sinking of the Pequod and emerge traumatized.
There's precious little backstory on Ishmael in Moby-Dick, but we do learn in Chapter 1 that he set out to go whaling because he was depressed and trying not to let his "hypos get such an upper hand" of him. We don't know why he was depressed. We also know he will survive the staving in and sinking of the Pequod and emerge traumatized.
Melville knew of the cannibalism among the survivors of the whaleship Essex. Cannibalism is mentioned thirty-three times in the novel. (And not just in descriptions of Queequeg, Dagoo and Tashtego. Take this passage from Ch. 58, "Brit": "the universal cannibalism of the sea ... do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself?" or the reference in chapter 65, "The Whale as a Dish": "Cannibals? Who is not a cannibal?" Melville did not write a cannibalistic sort of horror story into Moby-Dick. Ishmael is picked up relatively swiftly by the Rachel at the end, rather than having to survive on an open whaleboat by eating human flesh, but he is still a survivor of the traumatic loss of all his shipmates. That coming trauma echoes Ahab's past one. For this reason, it is not just Ahab who is a monomaniacal white-whale-obsessed nut job. If "Cetology" didn't prove it, "The Whiteness of the Whale" makes it undeniable that our narrator, Ishmael, too, is obsessed — and clearly triggered — by whiteness as a result of the trauma he has experienced. Narratively, Melville introduces great complexity and interest by having Ishmael, his Narrator/hero, share this key personality trait with Ahab, the villain/antagonist.
Melville knew of the cannibalism among the survivors of the whaleship Essex. Cannibalism is mentioned thirty-three times in the novel. (And not just in descriptions of Queequeg, Dagoo and Tashtego. Take this passage from Ch. 58, "Brit": "the universal cannibalism of the sea ... do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself?" or the reference in chapter 65, "The Whale as a Dish": "Cannibals? Who is not a cannibal?" Melville did not write a cannibalistic sort of horror story into Moby-Dick. Ishmael is picked up relatively swiftly by the Rachel at the end, rather than having to survive on an open whaleboat by eating human flesh, but he is still a survivor of the traumatic loss of all his shipmates. That coming trauma echoes Ahab's past one. For this reason, it is not just Ahab who is a monomaniacal white-whale-obsessed nut job. If "Cetology" didn't prove it, "The Whiteness of the Whale" makes it undeniable that our narrator, Ishmael, too, is obsessed — and clearly triggered — by whiteness as a result of the trauma he has experienced. Narratively, Melville introduces great complexity and interest by having Ishmael, his Narrator/hero, share this key personality trait with Ahab, the villain/antagonist.
PROMPT: Consider a character's deepest, darkest, most shameful or terrifying moment, their unmentionable and unforgettable secret. Depending on the story, this could be the murder of a king, the betrayal of a friend, a lie, an act of omission, a deception, a petty theft, or perhaps it's an inherited trauma. Next, consider the very specific ways your character would avoid thinking about this bad stuff. Ishmael's obsession with cannibalism comes out mostly in the form of a lot of cannibal jokes. And then there's this absolute fascination and horror of the color white.... It is not merely a set of philosophical musings on Whiteness, it's about Ishmael. As dangerous as Moby-Dick may be, his albinism is actually not the part of him that makes him a killer. That's deflection. So for the prompt, focus on what your character's greatest trauma deflects to.
PROMPT: Consider a character's deepest, darkest, most shameful or terrifying moment, their unmentionable and unforgettable secret. Depending on the story, this could be the murder of a king, the betrayal of a friend, a lie, an act of omission, a deception, a petty theft, or perhaps it's an inherited trauma. Next, consider the very specific ways your character would avoid thinking about this bad stuff. Ishmael's obsession with cannibalism comes out mostly in the form of a lot of cannibal jokes. And then there's this absolute fascination and horror of the color white.... It is not merely a set of philosophical musings on Whiteness, it's about Ishmael. As dangerous as Moby-Dick may be, his albinism is actually not the part of him that makes him a killer. That's deflection. So for the prompt, focus on what your character's greatest trauma deflects to.